Atlético Madrid had two club legends to thank for victory as captain Koke and record goalscorer Antoine Griezmann got on the scoresheet in a hard-fought 2-1 win over Valencia in La Liga.
Asked whether he expected
Griezmann and Koke to accept their diminishing roles, Simeone said “I’m not surprised because star players never cause problems. In the history of teams, star players, real star players, don’t cause problems.
“They understand their place, they know that the years have passed, they know that they have a different place, they accept why they are in the squad and, beyond the fact that they want to play, it’s normal that they want to play every game, they give their all, as Antoine Griezmann and, in this case, Koke are showing today,” Simeone said.
Diego Simeone on struggling to win the match
“We were playing against an opponent who played well. We had two very clear chances in the first half: one from Sørloth on the right and one from Sørloth on the left. They had only one chance in the first half that created danger. In the second half, they scored the goal, then they created another scoring opportunity. We had Giuliano’s chance, the (go-ahead) goal, the disallowed goal, and we played against a team that also had a chance to win.”
Diego Simeone on Antoine Griezmann’s goal
“I’m grateful for his talent. The truth is that the goal is a great goal, it’s incredible. Great pass from Marc Pubill, great control, great strike, good movement. An eternal player, a difference-maker. We talk to him every day because he’s important at any moment and in any phase of the game when he’s on the pitch, and when he has these situations, he elevates himself to a place he deserves. Club history, absolute legend, top scorer in the history of Atlético de Madrid. Absolute gratitude to Antoine Griezmann.”
Diego Simeone on the roles of Griezmann and Koke
“Tthe three of us were chatting for a long time today because, well, maybe Koke has played a lot of games in this period. It’s true that (Johnny) Cardoso hasn’t had the chance to play regularly, we need him to be able to share that position, but Koke is responding as he always does. And with Griezmann, lately, he’s been playing less as a starter. And obviously, it’s not easy for a historic, legendary footballer, a goalscorer in the history of the club, not to give him that starting position that obviously one always believes he deserves from Antoine Griezmann’s position. And I wanted to convey to him how important he always is when he gets to play as a starter.
“Why? Because he has qualities that set him apart, because he has qualities of absolute class that not many players in the squad have. And when he manages to perform as he did today, he helps the team, he enjoys himself and, obviously, this step that both Antoine Griezmann and Koke are going through helps the team, which is what their presence in the squad is all about.”
Diego Simeone on what the team is missing to be champions
“You tell me. I don’t know, we have to find something, don’t we? We have to try to repeat the match as we did in Eindhoven.”
Diego Simeone on Alexander Sørloth’s situation and future
“He knows how much we want him here, both as a person and as a footballer. He’s a player, as I’ve said before, not just now, because he’s getting more playing time, more minutes, is having a great run of form. I’ve always said it, he’s a very important player for us because he’s different from the others we have, and hopefully he’ll continue in this vein, because he’s the important player we need.”
Diego Simeone on Marc Pubill’s development
“The truth is that Marc Pubill continues to progress steadily. It won’t be long before he makes it to the Spanish national team, I’m sure. He can play at full-back, he can play at centre-back, he can play as a third centre-back. He has to stay humble, he has to stay away from the newspapers and all the nice words you’re going to offer him during this period. And when he distances himself from all that, he will surely continue to maintain the work he has done with great patience, because I haven’t forgotten.
The match he played against Rayo Vallecano (in September) was at a difficult time for the team, when we were losing 2-1. He came on and did very well. I thanked him at the time, I haven’t forgotten that. I have a good memory for both the good and the bad things. I think he has remained patient, he has continued working in that position where we have stayed behind after training in the mornings, looking to improve because I could see that we were going to need him in that position, and luckily he is responding. And hopefully he doesn’t buy the newspapers or listen to the radio.”
Diego Simeone on Julián Alvarez’s performance and substitution
“I think Julián Alvarez played like all the other lads who played in the match. I couldn’t make 10 substitutions, otherwise I might have made a few more changes. I thought Griezmann could do it for him from a different position and with a different style of play to Julián Alvarez. It worked out well and I think Julián is doing well. He had a great game. Today he was like all his teammates, on the same level. I don’t think anyone stood out in the first 60 minutes. I think everyone was more or less on the same level, with a slower pace, because we were coming off a big effort (against PSV) and it showed.”
